Matthew 19:3-8

New Catholic Bible

³ Some Pharisees came forward and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason whatsoever?” ⁴ He replied, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’ ⁵ and said: ‘That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two become one flesh’? ⁶ And so they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

⁷ They said to him, “Why then did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” ⁸ He replied, “It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but it was not like this from the beginning.